$500 budget for a new Notebook computer

It will probably be another six to eighteen months before I feel compelled to buy a new notebook computer, but I am trying to decide whether $500 is actually a credible budget. I have seen plenty of machines advertised at $599 teaser rates, but now I am starting to see a few machines at $499 and even $449.

Sure, these are really basic, bare bones machines, running only Vista Home Basic, but they are probably plenty powerful enough for what I do these days. My current machine, a very decent mid-range Toshiba Satelite, is over two years old, so it won't be too much longer before even low-end machines can outperform it. I suspect that by Spring or next June the crossover point will have been reached.

Sure, I could afford to splurge and buy a machine for $699 or even $999, but there is something incredibly appealing about getting a semi-decent machine for under $500. I don't need anything fancy these days for home use since I am no longer self-employed and all of my work computing is done at work.

I should probably go ahead and pencil in a $500 budget for a new notebook PC next June.

-- Jack Krupansky